Will Cronkrite

One of Dale Earnhardt's first rides in NASCAR was in 1978 in Will Cronkrite's # 96 FORD. How the ride came about is true NASCAR lore.

Charlotte Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler was always interested in providing the race crowd with interesting attention getting theatrics. Wheeler entered Willy T. Ribbs, an successful European African-American driver to drive a Winston Cup car owned by Will Cronkrite in the 1978 World 600 at the Charlotte track. After Ribbs skipped two practice sessions and was arrested for evading police when he drove the wrong way down a one way street, Cronkrite replaced him with, yes it is true, Dale Earnhardt.

The car sponsor was Cardinal Tractor Company.

(Editor Notes): I searched through many internet files and little is reported about Will Cronkrite as a car owner. His Statistics will be below, but there is little in pictures or stories written.

PLEASE EMAIL ANY STORIES OR PICTURES YOU MAY HAVE HERE.

What prompted this website listing was the following email. Can you help?

Good afternoon, my name is Will Cronkrite.

I was involved with Cup racing from about 1970 until about 1993 or so. I do not wish to have anything added, I am only looking for any small photo or small piece of info that might have hidden away. I have been considering writing a book and did not keep any records while I was in racing as it was only a job at the time.

I was Dales Sr.'s early crew chief and was working for Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Joe Frasson, Cecil Gordon and others.
Thank you for your time in this matter.

Thank you, Will Cronkrite

It was an easy decision for the eligibility of Mr. Cronkrite's inclusion. We look forward to increasing the information.

The following are excerpts of some website chats.

Will had one of the most memorable talks about suspension or the lack of, in a NASCAR car ever. Will had a solidworks drawing of a suspension table to put a car on. You could reproduce any bump on it. If it catches on, and it will, NASCAR will change A LOT. And also Will has some cool Model A stuff. He is truly a Renaissance man of the ages and a very good friend. Mark D.
I met Will at Henrob Jim's get together in South Carolina a few years back. A Fine Craftsman, and a Fine Gentleman. The only reason you would not like him is if you were in a model A show competing with him and you did not want to take a second place trophy home. We swapped a few of those old #3 stories, That first dirt car Ralph got for Dale when he was a teenager was built just up the creek where I grew up. Sometimes you can still hear those guys fire up a dirt car and it echoes down the creek bottom to Mom and Dads
I met Cronkrite through selling the torch and and am glad to know him and you all, I am glad to have been included in Metalmeet and this site and hope we can all bring our circle of friends, Past, Present and Future together under the best surroundings I know of. Jim Spradley

More on the Earnhardt Story

In the mid 70's, Earnhardt was an established racer. He can't remember how many races a year he entered, but he was always on the go. He'd travel from Savannah, Ga., to Coeburn, Va., to Hickory. He did most of the work on his cars himself, but he did receive assistance from friends.

"I did race in a Winston Cup event, the World 600 in Charlotte, in Ed Negre's car in 1975." Earnhardt said.

"Then I drove a car for Johnny Ray at Atlanta in 1976 and tore it all to hell.

And later, I ran in four races for Will Cronkrite. But late in 1978, I was buying used parts from Rod Osterlund (who fielded a Winston Cup Team with driver Dave Marcis) and DiGard and just about anyone else who would sell them to me. "Some people began saying nice things about me to Roland Wlodyka, who was Osterlund's racing boss."

Earnhardt and Osterlund starting talking about fielding a second team in 1979. Osterlund wanted Earnhardt to drive in the Winston Cup race in November of 1978, but if he did that, he would have six starts for the year and thus be ineligible for the rookie of the year title in 1979. "I was going to run Will's car in Charlotte in October, a car that broke a spindle during practice and I crashed. It was real bad. We worked like hell to fix it, but it wasn't in good shape to run competitively in the race," Earnhardt said. To solve the Charlotte-Atlanta dilemma, Earnhardt solicited the services of journeyman Baxter Price to start the Cronkrite car at Charlotte. Earnhardt drove some and then Price got back into the car, which eventually retired with a blown engine.

That finished, Dale was able to drive Osterlund's car at Atlanta, and still retain rookie status for 1979. He finished fourth. "We would have done better if we hadn't had an air line bust in the pits," he said. The idea of a two-car Osterlund operation vanished when Marcis quit the team. Earnhardt was selected to be his replacement. After only a handful of races on the Winston Cup circuit, Earnhardt was going to be a full-time competitor with a top notch team. Nascar would never be the same.